Canadians believe in public health care, Canadian sovereignty, clean water, fair trade, safe food. The Council of Canadians will be looking to Paul Martin’s new government and the 38th Parliament of Canada to act decisively on these issues of concern to Canadians.
PUBLIC HEALTH
84% agree that Canada’s public services should be delivered by public sector workers accountable to elected representatives and the public, not by corporations accountable to shareholders.
64% agree that Canada’s health care system should exclude corporations that operate for profit, and instead rely solely on public and not-for-profit health care providers.
CANADIAN SOVEREIGNTY
91% agree that Canada should maintain the ability to set its own independent environmental health and safety standards and regulations, even if this might reduce cross-border trade opportunities with the United States.
77% agree that Canada’s limited military spending should be used to enhance our abilities in peacekeeping and conflict resolution rather than trying to maintain multi-purpose forces intended for heavy combat alongside U.S. military forces.
69% agree that Canada should not actively support the Bush administration’s missile defence system if it requires dedicating military spending to the program or allowing U.S. missile launchers in Canada.
CLEAN WATER
97% agree that Canada should adopt a comprehensive national water policy that recognizes clean drinking water as a basic human right.
75% agree that Canada should rebuild its public infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, highways and water systems, through direct public involvement and not through public-private joint ventures with corporations.
FAIR TRADE
62% agree that the Canadian government should not sign a new international trade agreement with the World Trade Organization that makes Canada’s public services, such as health care and education, open to competition from foreign corporations.
60% agree that the Canadian government should not sign new trade deals that allow corporations to directly sue the Government of Canada if our public policies impair their ability to make profits.
SAFE FOOD
89% agree that the agriculture policies of the federal and provincial governments should support family farms with environmentally friendly livestock production systems rather than large corporate farms.
83% agree that the Canadian government should put a moratorium on any further releases of genetically modified crops until more health and environmental safety issues have been addressed.
(The foregoing are results of Ipsos-Reid polls conducted for the Council of Canadians, March 23-25 and March 30 - April 1, 2004.)
The public has spoken. It remains to be seen if Prime Minister Martin hears the message and acts accordingly.
Printer-friendly version:
Download "A message to Paul Martin" in PDF Format (71.4KB) 
